U.S. Pat. No. 6,799,642 B2 discloses a handheld work apparatus having an anti-vibration element which includes a tear-off guard. A holder of the tear-off guard is held in the slot by a housing part. Fixation by means of a housing part is not always easily possible because, for example, in the case of plastic housing parts the demolding directions must be taken into account. Because the ledge on the housing partially projects into the coil spring, the mounting direction is predefined. Thus, the ledge can be fixed on the housing only in the case of special installation situations.